What does leer in Spanish mean?

What is the meaning of the word leer in Spanish? The article explains the full meaning, pronunciation along with bilingual examples and instructions on how to use leer in Spanish.

The word leer in Spanish means read, read, read, detect, sense, read, present, read, encourage to read, read without stopping, read in a single sitting, read without stopping, tell the future, read between the lines, read minds, skim. To learn more, please see the details below.

Listen to pronunciation

Meaning of the word leer

read

verbo transitivo (captar textos con la vista)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Juan está leyendo un libro.
Juan is reading a book.

read

verbo transitivo (interpretar signos gráficos)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Carla leía la partitura y tocaba el piano a la vez.
Carla was reading the sheet music and playing the piano at the same time.

read, detect, sense

verbo transitivo (comprender indicios, señales)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Juan leyó la tristeza en los ojos de Ana.
Juan could read (or: sense) the sadness in her eyes.

read, present

verbo transitivo (defender en público un ejercicio)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Juan leerá su tesis el lunes.
Juan is reading (or: presenting) his thesis on Monday.

read

verbo transitivo (ordenador: acceder a datos)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Mi ordenador no puede leer este archivo.
My computer can't read this file.

encourage to read

locución verbal (incitar a la lectura) (with a subject)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Los padres deben animar a leer a los niños tanto como los maestros.
Parents must encourage children to read just as teachers do.

read without stopping

(sin detenerse)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
El niño leyó de corrido todo el párrafo.
The child read the paragraph without stopping.

read in a single sitting, read without stopping

locución verbal (todo seguido)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Juan leyó las más de seiscientas páginas de la novela de un tirón.

tell the future

locución verbal (adivinar el futuro)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

read between the lines

locución verbal (figurado (adivinar lo no dicho)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Un buen analista de medios debe saber leer entre líneas.
A good media analyst should know how to read between the lines.

read minds

locución verbal (adivinar el pensamiento)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Marcos me leyó la mente y supo exactamente lo que yo quería.

skim

(no profundamente)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Si solo lees el libro por encima no te enterarás de nada.
If you only skim the book you won't get anything out of it.

Let's learn Spanish

So now that you know more about the meaning of leer in Spanish, you can learn how to use them through selected examples and how to read them. And remember to learn the related words that we suggest. Our website is constantly updating with new words and new examples so you can look up the meanings of other words you don't know in Spanish.

Do you know about Spanish

Spanish (español), also known as Castilla, is a language of the Iberian-Romance group of the Romance languages, and the 4th most common language in the world according to Some sources, while others list it as a 2nd or 3rd most common language. It is the mother tongue of about 352 million people, and is spoken by 417 million people when adding its speakers as a language. sub (estimated in 1999). Spanish and Portuguese have very similar grammar and vocabulary; The number of similar vocabulary of these two languages is up to 89%. Spanish is the primary language of 20 countries around the world. It is estimated that the total number of speakers of Spanish is between 470 and 500 million, making it the second most widely spoken language in the world by number of native speakers.